Could Have Had It All Bvts/Spn ch 9

[hezio2]

Title: Could Have Had It All Bvts/Spn    chapter 9
Author: Hezio2 aka noturbaby
Fandoms: Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG-13 - R
Warnings: None (eventual het sex)

Pairings: Dean /Buffy, Sam/Dawn, Willow/Oz, Willow/Tara, Xander/Anya Most BtVS characters make anappearance.

Summary:
Buffy and Dean fell in love in High School, but college, a curse, and John Winchester kept them apart. When Buffy died, Dean felt he did, too.
Now he's in a coma, and Buffy's back, but Dean is unsure what she is. Will he die or can Buffy save him? Based on SPN Season 2 ep. 1 and Buffy seasons 4&5.
Based on High School Sweethearts and Second Chances.

Master Post


Shiloh County Hospital 2004

Buffy came out of the spirit walk with a start. She felt Sam's anxious eyes on her, but couldn't look at him. Dawn recognized her sister's expression immediately. "No. I don't believe you. Dean is not giving up." Dawn pushed herself up and nearly ran to Dean's room.

Taking his hand in hers, Dawn said, "Dean, you are not allowed to leave us. Not now. I've finally gotten her to see that she needs you."

The demon sneered at John. "You conjuring me, John. I'm surprised. I took you for a lot of things. But suicidally reckless wasn't one of them."

John gave the demon a sneer of his own and leveled the Colt. "I could always shoot you."
"You could always miss." The demon laughed. "And you've only got one try, don't'cha? Did you really think you could trap me?"

"Oh, I don't want to trap you." John lowered the colt. "I want to make a deal."

The demon scoffed. "It's very unseemly, making deals with devils. How do I know this isn't just another trick?"

"It's no trick. I will give you the Colt and the bullet, but you've got to help Dean. You've got to bring him back." John hoped his plea didn't sound as desperate as he felt.

The demon looked amused. "Why, John, you're a sentimentalist. If only your boys knew how much their daddy loved them."

"It's a good trade. You care a hell of a lot more about this gun than you do Dean."

The demon paused while he studied John Winchester. The hunter wasn't aware of the whole prophecy; he didn't know Dean's role in Sam's future. A new expression covered the demon's face. "Don't be so sure. That brat killed some people very special to me. But still, you're right, he isn't much of a threat. And neither is your other son. You know the truth, right? About Sammy? And the other children?"
John nodded. "Yeah. I've known for a while."

"But Sam doesn't, does he? You've been playing dumb." The demon was finding difficult to hide his glee.

John wasn't there for conversation. He was tired of the demon's delay tactics; his son was dying. "Can you bring Dean back? Yes or no?"

"No." The demon looked away, trying to appear disappointed. He waited until he saw John slump in defeat before he finished his reply. "But I know someone who can. it's not a problem."

"Good." John let relief wash over him. "Before I give you the gun, I'm going to want to make sure that Dean's okay. With my own eyes."

"Oh, John, I'm offended. Don't you trust me?" the demon nearly laughed. "Fine."

"So we have a deal?"

"No, John, not yet. You still need to sweeten the pot."

"With what?" John was willing to give the demon anything it wanted to get his son back.

"There's something else I want, as much as that gun. Maybe more."

John shuddered involuntarily, dread filled him.

Xander looked stunned. "Dean isn't coming back?" He asked, unable to believe what Dawn had so easily assumed.

Buffy still held Sam's hand. "Dean said a demon is after you. Do you know what he's talking about? Why is a demon after you?"

Sam ran his free hand through his hair. "Wants to finish the job? Kill my whole family? Everyone I love? I don't know." Buffy sighed at his frustration, but didn't blame him.

"Finish the job?" Willow repeated quietly. "Sam, what do you mean? What exactly happened to Dean? I thought your family was in a car accident."

"We were," Sam said plainly, but realized Willow wanted the whole story. "We had tracked down the demon."

"The demon?" Buffy interrupted. "The demon that killed you mother? That demon?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. It got away, we followed. It began to kill people we know, Caleb, Pastor Jim," Buffy's gasp reminded Sam that she knew the pastor. "It wanted to make a deal with my dad; hand over the Colt and no one else dies." Sam suddenly realized that the demon could have made Buffy or Dawn a target. It explained why John was so eager to deal. "My dad agreed to meet with them, but he got taken hostage when the demons realized he gave them a fake gun." He began to gather the few items Willow used for the spell, until she stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"Sam, tell me about the demon."

"We thought we had escaped them, you know, rescued Dad and got to a safe house. But, we weren't safe at all. The demon had possessed my dad. Dean figured it out when my dad demanded the gun. Before Dean could shoot him though, the demon," Sam paused feeling sick at the memory, "the demon tortured Dean and nearly killed him. Finally, my dad regained control and I shot him, but the demon escaped."

Willow could barely breath she was so overwhelmed. If she had only known. She blinked as she returned to her senses. "The demon did this to Dean? I thought a truck hit -"

"Yeah, the semi, driven by another demon, hit us as I was driving Dean to the hospital," Sam replied following Willow who was now hurrying to Dean's room.

"The truck driver was possessed, too?" she asked in a whisper that sounded far too happy to learn that information.

"Yeah; Willow, what are you doing?" Sam asked as Willow stood at the foot of his brother's bed.

She turned, smiled brightly at Sam. "I might be able to heal Dean."

"But you said you couldn't," Buffy said quietly. Sam, Dawn and Buffy look at each other in astonishment. Buffy took Dean's hand in hers, squeezing gently.

Xander grabbed Willow's hands. "Willow, no going dark."

Sam placed himself between the witch and his brother's bed. "Willow, don't. As much as I want Dean back, he would kill us if he knew we used black magic."

"I'm not." But she saw the concern on the faces of those in the room. "I promise, I'm not." She took a deep breath before attempting to convince them. "I couldn't heal Tara because it was a human death caused by human means. Like Tara, I couldn't just heal Dean if it was his 'time', if his injuries were caused by a human." She waves her hand over Dean. "All of this was caused by the mystical force, a demon, more than one demon."

"Willow, I saw the reaper that's after Dean. Are you sure you can stop her and heal him?"

Willow blew out a deep breath. "I can try."

Sunnydale 2000

Dean never liked Buffy's early morning class until that morning. As soon as she left, Dean was up, dressed and at Giles's door. He rocked on his heels as he waited for the former watcher. A bleary eyed Giles opened the door. "Dean? What are you doing here so early?"

Not waiting to be invited in, Dean shoved past the man into the room. "Buffy had a night terror last night. Just like the kind she had after killing Angel." Dean spun around to face Giles and noticed the man's haggard appearance. "Mr. Giles?" Dean took the man by the arm and led him to sit on the couch. "What's wrong?"

Giles closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of his couch. "Nothing, I'm fine. You were saying -"

"Fine my ass," Dean retorted, then smirked at his own joke. "You look like hell."

Giles kept his eyes closed but raised a brow at the insult. "Thanks, I didn't sleep well. But you were saying Buffy had -"

"Nightmares. And you didn't sleep well either?" Dean began to pace slowly. "Have you heard from Willow or Tara? Did they have nightmares? Could this be from that spell?"

Giles watched the other man pace and noted his concern with amusement. Taking a deep breath, he began to answer Dean's questions. "I have not heard from either of them, but yes, the nightmares could be a side effect of the spell."

Dean nodded though he didn't like the answer. "Is it going to keep happening, like before?"

"I should think not," Giles hoped to reassure, but he lacked his usual confidence and blamed it on lack of sleep. Giles pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses to his forehead, when a thought occurred to him. "Dean, is this your way of seeing if Buffy can spend the summer with you again?" He was joking, but he hoped Dean wouldn't pickup on that.

"What? No, I was just a little freaked out. I know she can't -"

"Good. Because you know, it's not my place to answer. You'd need to ask her." Giles failed to completely hide his smile.

Dean rolled his eyes as he realized Giles was teasing him. "I'll let you get back to sleep. Sorry, I bothered you so early."

Giles stood as Dean got to the door. "Dean, thank you for your concern for Buffy. I'm sure the dreams will pass."

A few days later, Dean was saying good-bye to Buffy, again. Every time he left her, he felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind. "You have a couple weeks of school left and finals, you'd be too busy for me anyway."

Buffy pouted and held his shirt front to pull Dean closer. "I would not be too busy," she mumbled. She looked up at him from downcast eyes. "You'll come back this summer, right?"

Dean seemed to stare at her for a minuted before he answered. "Yes. I'll always come back." He kissed her and she released his shirt to wrap her arms around him. Eventually, he pulled back. For some reason Dean didn't understand, he felt nervous. "Buffy, you think you would be able to come with me this summer? You know, road trip with me and -"

"Yes," Buffy answered excitedly before Dean could finish his question. "Let's go somewhere together, just the two of us."

Buffy's smile was so bright, Dean couldn't bring himself to her he had meant with his dad and brother, but he figured it was a detail he could work out later. At the moment, he was too elated to care.

The month of July, the entire month of July, if there wasn't a job that needed his attention, Dean was going to spend July with Buffy. The best part, they were going to spend it alone. No Dad, no Sam, no Scoobies, no 'baby sitters', just them.

He had spent May and June doing everything his father asked; often working above and beyond his father's demands. His new attempt at being the perfect son/hunter made Sam more petulant, but John took advantage, knowing Dean must want something.

Buffy worked extra hard in her classes for the last few weeks so her grade point would stay high and please her mother. She patrolled with more diligence now that the Initiative was destroyed. However, Sunnydale was mostly quiet on the demon front. Her extra effort did not go unnoticed by Giles, who had a pretty good idea why the slayer was so attentive to her duties.

Upon seeing her daughter's grades, Joyce was thrilled. Buffy moved home for the summer and seemed to be doing everything she could to stay in her mother's good graces. Finally, in late June, Dean called with the news he could spend July with her, if she wanted.

Joyce was reading in her favorite chair when Buffy got off the phone and joined her in the living room. "Mom?" Buffy was nearly bouncing with nerves. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

Joyce set aside her book to give Buffy her full attention.

"I'm in love with Dean."

"Yeah?" Joyce smiled. "Are you sure? You said you had a question."

"Yeah." Buffy sat on the couch. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure. I think I'm sure. I mean, how does someone know when someone is 'the one'?"

Joyce smiled. "I don't know if I'm the one to ask, I don't have the best track record when it comes to romance. But how does Dean make you feel?"

Buffy smiled shyly and blushed. "I don't know. I can't even explain it. I get happy and nervous and I can't wait to see him and I miss him the minute we're apart."

"How does he feel about you?"

Buffy chewed her lip for a minute. "I think he loves me. He doesn't say it often, but it's like all the other stuff he does says it more than if he just says 'I love you'."

Joyce nodded. "Yeah, I would say that's a pretty good indication of how he feels about you."

"That was him on the phone before. He asked if I could take a road trip with him in July." Buffy ducked her head, not wanting to let her mother see just how much she wanted to go.

"That should be fun. Where are you going?"

Buffy wanted to squeal with joy. "He said we could plan it when he gets here next week."

Joyce answered the door to find Dean Winchester carrying a squirming squealing girl over his shoulder. "Hi Mrs. Summers. I found this wild critter roaming in your front yard. Do you recognize it or should I take it to the shelter?"

Amused, Joyce shook her head and moved aside to let Dean into the house. "Come in, Dean. Looks like a harmless stray. I'll take her if she stops screeching like that."

Dean carried the girl into the living room and slapped her on the bottom when she began to squeal louder. "Hey, the nice lady said she'd take you if you stop wailing."

She squirmed and began to kick. "Put me down!" Obediently, Dean plopped the girl onto the couch. "Oof!" She bounced and glared at him. "You are such a doofus."

"Doofus?" gasped Dean in a highly over dramatic whine. He put his hand over his heart and sniffed. "That hurts."

Grinning deviously she giggled, "I'll show you hurt," as she pushed herself up from the couch.

"Bring it short stuff." Dean crouched, ready for her attack. "But, I should warn you, I remember all your ticklish spots and I'm not afraid to use 'em."

His attacker glanced quickly to his left, but Dean noticed and began to smile. He waited for this new aggressor to make her move. When he felt her hand go to his wrist, he let her spin him to the ground and tackle him. He had managed to grab her with his free hand and pull her down so that she landed on top of him.

His assailant giggled. "Ooh, someone's out of practice."

Dean returned her grin. "Or maybe I've got you right where I want you," he replied as he curled up and pulled her into a kiss.

They broke apart when they heard an annoyed groan. "Ew, you two are so disgusting"

Buffy glared at her little sister. "No one asked you to stick around, Dawn."

"No one asked you to start making out -"

"Mom! Make Dawn leave us alone!"

Dawn huffed and looked to Dean for support, but at the moment he only had eyes for her sister.

"Dawn! Come help me with dinner," Joyce called from the kitchen.

Dawn sighed. "Fine. I don't want to stay here and see you two grope each other."

Early the next morning, Dean groaned as he lifted another overstuffed suitcase. "Buffy, we're only going to be gone three weeks."

"Exactly. That's a lot of clothing decisions to make," Buffy countered as she eased a case into the trunk.

"Laundromats exist in every state, babe."

Buffy stared blankly at him. "So?"

Knowing it was a losing battle, Dean gave up. He grabbed Dawn in a tight hug. "I promise I'll get you something from every stop."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. And Sammy will be by before the end of summer, too."

Dean stepped back, but Mrs. Summers stepped forward and hugged him. "Take care of my little girl. Drive carefully."

Her attention made Dean blush crimson. "Of course, Mrs. Summers."

Buffy hugged her family goodbye before climbing into the Impala with Dean.

The only decision they had made was to take the Pacific Coast Highway north. They had no destination in mind, no deadline to arrive anywhere. No obligations to worry them. No bad guys to fight.

Buffy leaned against Dean, rested her feet on the dash, and relaxed. Dean immediately put his arm around her and kissed her hair. Buffy beamed as she thought, best summer ever.

Dean knew he was in trouble a week into their trip. He was completely, hopelessly in love. He thought he was walking around with a stupid grin all the time. He had no idea why she wanted to be with him, but he was going to do everything he could to make Buffy happy. Her smile made his insides jelly, but it was a feeling he didn't want to lose.

"What?" Buffy demanded when she caught him looking at her.

"What, what?" Dean repeated as he snapped out of his daydream.

"You've got that goofy far away look again. What are you thinking about?"

"I never look goofy." Dean tried for solemn. "I have many looks, but goofy isn't one of them."

Buffy just laughed. "Right. Okay. Not goofy." She straddled his lap as he sat on the motel bed. "Then what were you thinking about?"

As she wiggled in his lap, Dean's face lit into a smile. "Well, now I'm thinking something else entirely." He kissed her playfully sucking on her bottom lip.

"Before you get too carried away, Bobby Singer called while you were in the shower."

Dean groaned. "What did he want?"

Buffy shrugged, "I didn't answer it." She pushed him back, forcing him to lay down. "I had other things on my mind."

"I like how you think."

She kissed him. "I know." She kissed him again then sat up. "You can call him later." She pulled off her shirt, Dean sat up to kiss her once it was gone. Buffy tugged on his shirt, helping him pull it over his head.

Dean knew he was probably smiling that 'goofy' smile again, but he really didn't care.

Shiloh County Hospital 2004

Dean stared after Buffy as she went through the portal before returning his attention to Tessa, only to find the reaper staring after Buffy as well. With a puzzled expression, she turned to Dean. "Who are these people that are trying to see you? The first one, the boy, he was family?"

"My brother. The one that is in danger." His eyes were glued to the people in the room.

Tessa nodded. "And the girl? Was she your sister? Your wife?"

Dean shook his head. "Neither."

Tessa looked towards the figures of Buffy, Sam, and the others. "She has a strong bond with you, though, doesn't she."

Dean turned away then; he walked towards his body. "I can feel her. When she touches me," he pointed to his body, "him, that me, I can feel it." He looked at his hand, the one Buffy was holding, and again it seemed brighter and warmer than the rest of him.

He looked to Tessa for an explanation, but she only gave him a small smile. The reaper touched Dean's arm. "It's time to put the pain behind you."

"What happens next?"

"Sorry, I can't reveal the big ending. Are you ready?" Tessa's tone was patient. "There's no changing your mind later."

"I'm ready," Dean sighed. He wasn't, but what choice did he have?

Sioux Falls 2000

When Dean saw his father's truck as he pulled into Singer Salvage, his stomach turned. He wasn't ready for his vacation with Buffy to be over. John Winchester was supposed to be working a case in Minnesota. He was not supposed to be sitting at Bobby Singer's ruining Dean and Buffy's road trip.

"Dad, hey," Dean gave his father a brief hug, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I could say the same. Bobby Singer does a lot of things but running a romantic bed and breakfast isn't one of them." John said grinning slightly at how easily that embarrassed his son and Buffy. "What brings you by?"

"Bobby called."

All eyes turned to Bobby. "What? I didn't know you were gonna be stopping, John. I thought you were up in Minnesota."

"I was until Martin Creaser called. He's got a case in Kimball, Nebraska he wants help with. I figure I owe him from that time in Springfield," John replied.

"So, you're using me for supplies," Bobby implied.

"I'll pay you," John said gruffly, sounding only slightly put out by Bobby's remark.

Bobby addressed Dean and Buffy. "A hunter I work with left an item here. I was hoping you could deliver it to your father for me, but since he's here, I'll just give it to him myself." Bobby turned to John. "Since these two were invited, they get the guest room and you can make due with the couch."

John left in the morning leaving orders for Dean to pick up Sam in Blue Earth. Dean knew Buffy liked Sam, but it wasn't how he wanted to spend his last week with her.

As Bobby Singer watched Dean and Buffy he was reminded of his wife, Karen. He was happy that Dean had somehow been able to convince John to let him spend more time with Buffy. The hunter thought they both deserved some good in their lives considering how much evil they had each witnessed. Almost like he was reading Dean's mind, Bobby offered to pick up Sam.

"No, Bobby, you know how my dad is. If he tells me to do something and I pass it off on someone else," Dean said with a shrug.

Bobby gave Dean a stern look. "Son, I know Buffy's got to get back to Sunnydale soon. It doesn't make sense for you to drive up to Pastor Jim's then back track back to California, now does it?"

"No, sir, but,"

"But nothing." Bobby cuffed Dean on the head. "You only got so much time to spend with your girl before she starts school again."

Buffy bounded into the yard with the dog at her heels. "I'm ready any time you are, Dean."

As they loaded the Impala, Bobby Singer chuckled. "Well, just let me know where you kids are registered."

Dean looked confused. "Registered? What are you talking about?" he asked making Bobby quietly laugh again. "like for school?"

Buffy grinned, but reassured Dean with a hand on his arm. "What Dean means is that I obviously have to finish school first. But don't worry, Mr. Singer, I'll be sure you're on the invite list." She leaned in to hug Bobby good-bye.

Even more confused, Dean looked back and forth between them. "What?"

"For the last time, it's Bobby and I had better be," Bobby said as he released her. He clapped Dean on the shoulder, "Have a safe trip, kids."

"Yeah, sure," Dean said while walking around the Impala to open the door for Buffy. Once he settled into the driver's seat, he asked, "You mind telling me what you two were talking about?"

"Bobby wanted to know when we were getting married, so he can buy us a gift."

The Impala slowed drastically. "M-married?" Dean coughed. "You want to get married?" The car nearly stopped on the side of the road.

"Was that a proposal?" Buffy teased, smiling widely.

"What? No. I mean..." Dean panicked for a moment but soon thought he was being played. "Well, of course you would want to get married, I'm a helluva catch. Who else are you going to find that would take you on exotic vacations or lavish you with expensive gifts?" He tugged on her Singer Salvage t-shirt. "What do I get out of the deal?"

Buffy gaped playfully. "You mean besides the honor of calling me 'wife'?"

"Yeah. You need to up the ante."

Buffy pretended to look worried. "Hmm, I can't cook, I rarely clean, and my job doesn't pay."

Dean shook his head. "Ouch, it's not looking good, babe."

Buffy twined her fingers with his. "Good thing I'd have to finish college first. Maybe in that time I can think of some way to win you over."

"I'm pulling for you, but you've got an uphill battle."

She rested her head on his shoulder, smiling even wider. "My answer is 'yes'; you know, for whenever you get around to asking."

He kissed Buffy's hand and didn't fight the grin he felt covering his face. "I'll remember that if I ever get desperate."

Shiloh County Hospital 2004

In Dean's hospital room, Willow raised her hands and began to chant, "Osiris, keeper of the gate, master of all fate, hear me. Osiris! Here lies a warrior of the people. Let him cross over. By Osiris, I command you, heal him!"

Tessa placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll see a light, one that is meant for you, you'll recognize it."

Dean's eyebrows raised comically. "Go into the the light. Not cliched at all."

Tessa's patient smile turned worried as the lights began to flicker. Dean looked around. "Why are you doing that?"

"I'm not." Tessa sensed the demons before the black smoke appeared. "No. You can't come here. You aren't allowed." Dean looked at her in confusion. "Dean run," Tessa pleaded, "Run to the the light. Now. I won't be able to stop him. He's too strong." A cloud of black smoke began to billow towards Tessa. Suddenly, a white cloud joined it, swirling and intertwining with the black smoke around the reaper.

"What? The light?" Dean shouted over the roar in the room.

"Go now, Dean!" Tessa shoved him towards the light.

The dialogue between YED and John and much of the discussion Tessa and Dean have is taken from the episode and the spell Willow performs is from Buffy season six episode 19.

chapter 10